Seattle’s Best; And I’m Not Talking Coffee

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courtesy of Metal Chris (Flickr)

When you think about Seattle, WA, what comes to mind? Two things come to my mind; coffee and the birthplace of “grunge,” a popular style of rock music that erupted in the ’90s. Seattle is home to a few grunge and alternative legends like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, along with many others. My favorite out of these four, Pearl Jam, is the band that is still going strong.

Born from a catastrophe, Pearl Jam is now two decades old. In light of the band’s accomplishments, it decided to team up with filmmaker Cameron Crowe to create a documentary called Pearl Jam Twenty. This documentary consists of about 2,000 hours of footage covering Pearl Jam’s journey. It includes behind the scenes material, as well as coverage of the band’s exceptional and enthralling concerts. The documentary also touches on the band’s struggles, including the conflict with Ticketmaster and the Roskilde tragedy. The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2011, and hit the key markets on Friday, Sept. 23, 2011

Courtesy of cnykerk (Flickr)

Pearl Jam is widely recognized as the most popular band of the ’90s, although some could argue that spot for Nirvana, which is understandable. It’s just that Nirvana ‘was.’ I know Nirvana’s music is still popular, but the band no longer exists; RIP Kurt Cobain. Pearl Jam was, is and will be. Also, Pearl Jam has a much different sound than Nirvana, although there are similarities.

For some reason I hadn’t watched the film until about three hours ago. I’m speechless. The film is much better than I expected because of the great footage they were able to obtain. It’s incredible to watch such a talented group start out, when, at that time, they don’t know how big and famous they would become. But you, the viewer, you know the eventual fate of the band and the incredible success it will achieve. It’s exciting. Check the trailer, and better yet, watch the movie!